Etymologically
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equity

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈek.wɪ.ti/, US /ˈek.wɪ.t̬i/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English equite, borrowed from Old French equité,[2][3][4] a learned borrowing of Latin aequitās (“equality, uniformity; fairness, just conduct”) (accusative aequitatem),[2][3][5] from aequus (“even, just, equal”) (see equal).[2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fairness, impartiality, even-handed dealing: about 1315 in the OED,[7] before 1333 in Shoreham's poems in Barnhart,[2] the early 14th century in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

What is equally right or just to all concerned is from the late 14th century.[3][7] The OED notes that Latin aequitās was influenced by being the usual rendering of Ancient Greek ἐπιείκεια (epieíkeia, “reasonableness”), moderation in insisting on one's rights.[3] In law, natural equity, the settlement of disputes by good conscience, after Roman naturalis aequitas, is from the late 14th century, and in England and the United States the system of jurisprudence that supplements the common law, and the courts that apply it, from the 1590s.[3][7] An equitable right recognized by a court of equity is from the 1620s,[3][7] and the equity of redemption, a mortgagor's right to redeem the property, from 1712.[7] The financial senses, the value of a property beyond what is owed on it and the shareholders' interest in a company, are originally American, from 1904,[7] and the plural equities, ordinary shares, followed.[8][9] The actors' trade union in Britain is called Equity.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1315 – fairness, impartiality.[7]
  • late 14th century – natural equity in law.[3]
  • 1591 – the English system of equity.[7]
  • 1620s – an equitable right.[3]
  • 1712 – equity of redemption.[7]
  • 1904 – the value beyond debts, in the US.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The quality of being fair and impartial; justice.
  2. (law) A system of jurisprudence based on natural justice, supplementing and softening the rigour of the common law.
  3. (law) An equitable right or claim.
  4. The value of a property or business beyond any mortgage or debts on it.
  5. The interest of ordinary shareholders in a company; (equities) ordinary shares.

Word family

  • equitable
  • court of equity
  • equity of redemption
  • sweat equity
  • equal
  • iniquity
  • adequate
  • equanimity

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin